


Almost

by Skylar0Grace



Category: Dark Angel
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-05
Updated: 2009-06-05
Packaged: 2017-11-29 16:59:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/689308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylar0Grace/pseuds/Skylar0Grace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“I’ll be back,” Alec said, a huge grin crossing his face as he turned to walk away.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Almost

**Author's Note:**

> A submission for the ‘Picture That’ Challenge at Paradise Lost. Inspired by the Alec/Max manip and the song ‘Almost Lover’ by A Fine Frenzy.

* * *

“Are you almost ready Max?”

Max looked up and saw Dalton standing before her. She hadn’t even heard him enter her office but things had been off and she wasn’t entirely surprised. Max looked down at the blank page on her desk and realised she hadn’t written a thing. She come into her office with the sole purpose of writing something stirring, something that would give her people hope but she’d come up empty. How was she supposed to convince them that everything would be alright when she didn’t even believe it?

“I’ll be out in a minute.”

Dalton nodded and took a step backward. “Okay then, I’ll be back.”

Dalton closed the door and didn’t even notice his leader become enveloped in her own thoughts as he left.

* * *

 

_“I’ll be back,” Alec said, a huge grin crossing his face as he turned to walk away._

_Max reached out and grabbed his arm. “Alec, you need to take this seriously!”_

_Alec looked down at the hand grasping his arm and his gaze travelled up to the concerned face. It was a dangerous mission and there was every chance White would be there but there was an entire team backing him up and he couldn’t understand why she was so angry. He couldn’t decipher the concern on her face and as hard as he tried, he couldn’t see anything underneath it._

_“I am taking this seriously Max. We won’t draw any unnecessary attention to ourselves, I promise.”_

_Max raised an eyebrow at him. He didn’t know why he did it but he put it down to the concern he saw all over her face. It was an emotion he’d been seeing more and more often from her and the resolve he’d had to stay away from her had slowly melted away until he couldn’t deny that he was hopelessly in love with his Max._

_He leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft kiss, gently coaxing hers until she surprised him by responding. His hand wound its way up into her hair and pulled her closer until he felt a part of himself break. There was no way after this that he could ever go back. If she pushed him away, if she rejected him, he felt that he would cease to exist; he would be irreparably broken._

_Reluctantly he pulled away leaving a stunned Max behind. He offered her one last parting look over his shoulder before she disappeared from view. There’d be a lot to talk about when he got back but for now he had a job to focus on. He needed to be prepared._

* * *

_Alec swore as he saw a Transgenic go down, blood seeping from a small wound in the centre of her forehead. He reloaded his gun before looking across to Camo, a unit mate from his Manticore days. He didn’t need to say a word but Camo nodded anyway, instructions understood as they both leapt up and provided cover for the X8’s caught in the crossfire._

_“Run!” Alec yelled._

_Six kids leapt from their crouched positions and ran toward him. Alec shot one familiar in the head before the six made it behind him. They all ducked down behind the concrete boulder Alec was using for cover._

_“Is this all of you?”_

_A small boy, no older than seven nodded. “Yes, Sir, we’re all that’s left alive.”_

_Alec looked across to Camo. “Call them up, get us out of here.”_

Max approached the front of the crowd and took a deep breath. There was a sea of Transgenics watching her, waiting on her to lead them through the danger the world was presenting and she suddenly felt small. Pushing back her shoulders, she addressed them.

“We’re soldiers. We were bred as soldiers and we’ll probably die as them. But that’s not all we are. They may have made us but we’re still alive, we still have beating hearts and we won’t let them tell us otherwise. They think we won’t make it and that we’ll fight amongst ourselves in panic but I’m here to tell you we won’t. There is nothing that will stop us from banding together and fighting for our right to be here, for our right to live -”

* * *

Max stirred as two strong arms wrapped around her and she rolled over on her mattress.

“Alec?”

Alec grinned. “Told you I’d be back,” he whispered in her ear, sending chills down her spine as his fingers raced across her skin.

Alec rolled her back and lay behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling into her neck.

“How did it go today?” he asked.

“It was so hard - I didn’t know what to say.”

Alec kissed her shoulder. “I love you. I’m sure what you said would have been perfect.”

Max smiled. “I love you too.”

Max’s eyes opened as she rolled over and she sat up when she heard a crinkling noise. She looked down at the papers covering the bed and silently cursed herself for bringing work home again. She looked around the room and a small cold shiver had her drawing her sheet further around her. She glanced at the smooth pillow beside her as a tear slipped silently down her face.

Picking up the piece of paper lying on it, she glanced down at Camo’s familiar handwriting.

‘Mission unsuccessful. Heavy loss of life including the six hostages the unit was sent to retrieve.  Six unit members caught in crossfire and team leader KIA protecting hostages. Unknown number of enemy taken down but enemy leader unable to be found among the fallen; assumed alive.’

Max closed her eyes as the last few lines of her speech rang in her ears, her voice choked as she struggled to get the words out and unsure, even to her, whether she was talking to TC or herself.

“Alec will be sorely missed. No one can replace him but he would have wanted us to continue on. Alec would have been the last one to suggest that we just roll over and die and we need to fight, not just for ourselves but for those who have fallen; for Alec.”

_“Goodbye my almost lover, goodbye my hopeless dream. I’m trying not to think about you; why can’t you just let me be?_


End file.
